A few months ago, I couldn’t help but laugh as I heard about a little game on the GBA called “Pinball of the Dead”. For anyone who hasn’t played it, it was a crossover of House of the Dead and pinball, one of the oddest combinations that I had heard of to date. Well, it worked out great and was amazingly fun and addictive, but SEGA wasn’t the first to explore a crossover style. About five years ago, Capcom released a really great game that also saw two totally different styles paired up in the form of Super Puzzle Fighter 2. Now, it hits the GBA and retains every bit of fun and addictive quality that it had back in its release.

For anyone who hasn’t played or heard of Super Puzzle Fighter 2, the overall setup and look is very similar to Tetris. Pairs of gems fall from the top of the screen, sometimes the same color and sometimes a different color, and will attach, stack, and pile up as they hit the bottom of the screen or land on other gems. If your gem pile hits the top of the screen, you’ve lost. Sounds like we’ve been there done that before … but here’s where it starts to get interesting.

For starters, gems will not eliminate as they form lines across the screen. Instead, stacking gems of the same colors in groups or 4, 6, 8 and so on will cause them to fuse together forming huge power gems. When a circular gem of a certain color called a crash gem falls from the sky, touching it to a gem or power gem of the same color will cause it to burst apart. If a diamond shaped rainbow gem falls down, touching it to a gem or power gem will cause every other gem of the same color in your playing field to burst. What’s the point of all this? Well, this game is a battle between two opponents (hence the name “Puzzle Fighter”), and causing gems to burst rains down timed blocks referred to as counter gems on your nemesis. These counter gems cannot be eliminated until the timer runs out and they turn into regular gems, so of course slamming multiple large power gem combos can quickly become devastating to your rival and also causes you to play a little more strategically versus just trying to keep your screen empty. Eliminating single gems will drop a couple of counter gems, but the bigger the chains and the bigger the power gems the more counter gems get sent over.

Secondly, this is not just you versus falling blocks … as I said before this is a battle between two 2-D fighting characters. Better yet, the characters are big headed and young-looking caricatures of Street Fighter 2 and Darkstalkers personas, so you can select and battle it out with such known favorites as Ryu, Chun-Li, Morrigan, or Felicia just to name a few. As you eliminate power gems and blocks from play, the Capcom 2-D fighting element begins to show itself as your character will punch, kick, or perform one of their moves from the game on the opponent. The higher the chain or power gem elimination is, the more advanced and neat their moves will be from a single shot in the mouth all the way up to the entire screen turning that infamous Capcom-style white-hot explosion look and them performing one of their power finishers from the SF2 game series.

There are a couple of different play options available in SPF2, the main one being arcade mode where you, of course, have to beat a certain number of opponents each at an increasing difficulty as you progress. For beginners, this means beating four of them, but the normal- and hard-play modes will have you facing eight plus a boss character like Akuma or Dan. There is also a mode called Street Puzzle mode, which has you facing off in some really tough battles to unlock things like different outfits, sound tests and collections, and even hidden characters like Akuma or Dan to play with in the game. On a positive note, there is also the option to play multiplayer, either by linking two GBA’s together or even by having two players play on the same GBA, one of them using the L button and the control pad, the other using the R, A, and B buttons. The idea of having two people play on one GBA was neat, but honestly it turned out to be more clumsy and somewhat frustrating than fun, so I would still recommend using a link cable if you have the urge for a multiplayer experience.

Graphically, SPF2 retains the traditional Capcom 2-D animated fighting look of the SF2 and Darkstalkers series that remains popular to this day. They even have the same little background animations and silliness that goes on in the big screen and fighting versions, and the characters (while young and exaggerated looking in proportion) are comical and well animated. The attacks and finisher moves also retain their charm from the 2-D fighting titles, and look great even on the smaller GBA screen. There is some slowdown during major chain or combo attacks when a lot of things are happening, and while it is noticeable, it’s nothing which hindered the gameplay and actually was kind of cool since you got to watch really nasty attacks in slow motion. The sound for SPF2 wasn’t bad by any means, but mostly consists of comments, shouts, and taunts in Japanese and the smacking and crashing sounds that we’ve all grown to know and love from the 2-D fighting series. 

Overall, SPF2 is very reminiscent of other puzzle games that are out, but it also sets a new standard by adding in enough of another popular game style to make it stand out on its own. It is easy to pick up and get into, hard as heck to master, and the little additions, animations, and strategy possibilities make it one of the more addicting games that I have played in a long time. Definitely check it out if you are into fighting or puzzle games … you won’t be disappointed. If you’ve played it before on an older system like the PSX and enjoyed it it’s a perfect way to get back into an old favorite and take it on the go with you.

Gameplay: 8.5
There are a couple of gameplay modes to select from, and the changeable options of things like how many rounds to fight were a good addition. The game is extremely simple to pick up and figure out, even for younger gamers, but is very challenging and super addictive and seems to get even more enjoyable the more you play it. The idea of having to face specific difficult opponents to unlock new characters and extras was also added fun and challenge and made unlocking them more enjoyable.

Graphics: 8.0
The graphics retain the animated Street Fighter 2 and Darkstalkers 2-D style that we have all grown to know and love over the years, including all the animations during attacks and in the backgrounds while the battles are going on. There is some slowdown during intense moments or large chains and animations going on at the same time, but nothing which hindered or caused problems with gameplay.

Sound: 7.9
It’s not bad, but there’s just not a whole lot to it. The music is the SF2-style looped track thing that can be found in the popular 2-D fighting series, and dialogue on the game consists of the various comments and taunts made in Japanese by the fighters.

Difficulty: Medium
As I stated before, the game is extremely easy to pick up and get into, but will get more difficult as you progress through the ladder. The Street Puzzle mode and boss battles will require some really quick thinking and skill to win, and just keeps you coming back for more as you work to try and get better at playing.

Concept: 8.0
Puzzle games have been done before, and the initial look and feel of the game will be nothing new for Columns or Tetris veterans. The addition of the fighting concept paired in with the power gems, chains, and combos that can be pulled off open the door for a lot of different strategy styles while playing.

Multiplayer: 8.0
The multiplayer by linking two GBAs together is where the real fun of the game is, and can really be a blessing in disguise for those upcoming vacation road trips and whatnot. The option to play with two people on one GBA is present and is fun and tolerable for the most part, but felt a little too clumsy and got frustrating at times.

Overall: 8.4
Great game, and a unique combination of two game styles that just worked well. It’s similar to other puzzle games in many aspects, but is different enough to set itself apart from others that are out as well. If you are a fan of puzzle games, pick it up. If you are a fan of 2-D Capcom fighting games, pick it up. If you haven’t really gotten into puzzle games before, this is a good title to get to see just how fun and addicting they really can be.